Pole-elevation indicator.



I. L. FAY & S. B. WAY.

POLE ELEVATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30. I912 Patented Jan. 18, 191.6.

flrromvsva.

WITNESSES. g

THE COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. C

E1) STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. FAY AND SYLVESI'IER B. WAY, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

POLE-ELEVATION INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 30, 1912. Serial No. 723,010.

To all whom it may concern v Be it known that we, JOHN L. FAY andSYLYESTER B. WAY, citizens of the United States, and residents ofMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of WVisconsin, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Pole-Elevation Indicators, ofwhich the following is a description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in elevation indicators.

In telegraph, telephone and electric light systems it is considered goodengineering practice in crossing the wires of one system over the wiresof another system to have the crossing wires at least five feet abovethe wires crossed and to accomplish this result, it is, of course,necessary to support the wires on poles which are of sufficient lengthto give the desired elevation.

In ordinary practice it is customary for the foreman of the linemen ofthe system being built, to estimate the height of the wires to becrossed and add five feet to this estimated length and also add thelength of the pole to be inserted into the ground in order to get thetotal length of the pole desired for the particular crossing. In actualpractice the estimated height of the wires to be crossed is not alwayscorrect with the result that when the pole is in place it is found to betoo long or too short. If too long, the expense of the system isincreased due to the increased cost of the unnecessary lengths of thepoles leading up from the ordinary height of the poles to the elevatedcrossing. On the other hand if the estimated distance is too short, thepoles would have to be changed for longer ones or the companyconstructing the new line wouldbe subject to suit for possible damage.

In order to approximately estimate the elevation it requires a linemanof long experience and at a comparatively high wage rate to keep theexpense of construction within a reasonable amount.

It is one of the objectsof this invention to provide an elevationindicator which is adapted to overcome the before mentionedobjectionable features and correctly indicate the length of polesrequired to support cross wires the desired distance above the wiresbeing crossed.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elevation indicatorwhich will indicate to the user thereof even though unskilled' inconstruction work, the exact length of the pole required to supportwires a predetermined distance above the wires being crossed and alsocompensating for the predetermined distance the poles are set in theground.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elevation indicatorwhich is simple in construction, inexpensive to man ufacture and whichis of a size to be conveniently carried in the pocket.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved elevation indicator and its parts and combinations as set forthin the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference charactersindicate the same parts in all of the views: Figure l is a front sideview of the improved elevation indicator; Fig. 2 is a rear side viewthereof, parts broken away to show interior construction; Fig. 3 is atop view of a portion of the elevation indicator, a portion broken awayto show parts therebeneath; Fig. 4 is an end view of the outer portionof the elevation indicator; and Fig. 5 is a top View of the mirrorcasing removed from the sighting tube of the elevation indicator.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 8 indicates the sighting tubewhich is square in cross section and at one end is provided with a sightaperture 9 through which the object to be measured is viewed. Theopposite end of the sighting tube is Provided with a removable mirrorcasing 10 having a mirror 11 positioned at an angle on one end, andcovering one half of the open tubular end of the casing. The oppositeopen end 12 of the mirror casing is divided centrally horizontally by asight line 13. The mirror 11 is mounted at an angle of forty-fivedegrees to provide for reflecting the bubble of the level 14, positionedabove the sight tube, to permit the View thereof through the sightaperture, and the upper wall of the sight tube 8 at a point above themirror is provided with an aperture 15 to permit the bubble to bereflected therethrough.

A vertical are 16 mounted on the side of the sight tube and projectingupwardly therefrom has pivotally connected thereto a rock frame 17 towhich the level 14 is connected. The rock frame is mounted a sufficientdistance above the sight tube-to perdesired extent withinthe range ofthe in strument and the level casing '18 is also pro vided with anopening 19 on its loweriside- 5 and in vertical alinement with theaperture 15of-the-sight tube-Ste permit the bubble i to be reflected'onthe mirror;

The rock frame is provided with a milled hand wheel 20, for conveniencein holding or. turning the level "iiii'horizontal' po itih j:

while the sight tube is" being adj'usted'or" turned tothe'desiredinclination, and is also proVided with a screw 21 for locking the partsin adjusted position.

*An indicator arm 22 depending downwardly from the rock frame, isadapted to co-act with a graduated scale 23 delineated on the outer faceof the arc member 16 to indicate the length of a pole necessary tosupport wires extending over and five feet above an obstruction. Thegraduations are spaced and marked to indicate the height of "theobstruction viewed plus five feet to be added to the pole'and also, plusthe length 25 the pole is to be set'into the groundto support wiresextending over and five j feet above said obstruction. Inthis'particular embodiment'of the invention as shown in the drawing'thegraduations'are marked and spaced to indicate" poles varying five feet.in'

lengthfrom-twenty-five 'to seventy-five feet lolngbu't is to beunderstood' that' the grad-' 'uation 'may be changed to indicate otherlengths, and also that the indicated length of the part' of the pole setinto the ground maybe varied with relation to the proportion it bears.to the total length of the pole "to-come within good engineeringpractice without departing from the spirit and scope 40 ofthe invention.The present engineering practice provides for setting a twenty-fivefootpole fouranda'half feet and a seventyfive footi poleseven and a halffeet in the ground, and thepole's. of intermediate lengths are setvarious proportional distances between these amounts.

'"In the particular indicator shown the readings are to be taken at apoint fifty feet from the base line ofthe obstructionto be passed over,but it is obvious that the graduations may be arranged for otherdistances.

'g'Assuming that a line is to be extended over another line of wires orother obstruci tiontwentyfeet high, the user of the indicator wouldtake'a'position' fiftyfeet from,

-the base-line of the obstruction sight a through. the instrument so.that the, cross line 'of' theinstrument would"b'e' alinement with thetop portion of the obstruction. .Thehand wheel of the level is nowturned to swingthe level to a horizontal ;position and when the objectviewed is in'the same "horiz"ontal-"1ine*Witli tlie reflected bubble ofthe level the observation is completed and, it is only necessary ,"tolook atthe numberen the scale pointed out by theiindicator arm, which,in this example, would be 30, to know that a pole thirty feet long wouldbe the proper length to be set five feet in the 3 ground and wouldextend to" a, position to support a cross wire five feet above the ob-'struction inquestion. From the foregoing description it will be seenthat the user does not have to make any calculation or'es'timatein-gettingthe correct length of a pole to support wires a givendistanceabove wires crosse Y The instrument is of very simpleconstruction and may be successfully used by ipersons l 5 not -skilledin it'relates. v

'lVhat we claim as our invention i '1. A device of the characterdescribed for the particular work to which '80 determining thevary'ingunknown length of i different poles, comprising an' altimeterem: bodying an indicator arm and cooperating indicating characters, saidcharacters representing numerically various total lengths which are inexcess'of and in varyin'g'prd" portion to the actual objects sighted. w

2. A device of the character described-for determining the varyingunknown "length of different poles, comprisingan altimeter embodyinganindicator arm and cooperat .ing indicating characters, said characters";representing numerically various total lengths which are'in excess ofand in vary-:

heights of the different ing proportiontothe actual heights of,thedifferent objects sighted, means for man ually operating saidindicating arm, and a separate means for locking said indicatingi arm inits adjusted positions In testimony'whereof, we alfixour signaa;

. tures, in presenceof 'twowitnesses; V JOHN'LlFAY. n SYLVESTER BJVAY.lVitnesses: v KA'rrIERINE Hour,

EMILY ScHowALTER.

I Copies of this patent may b e ohtainedfor five cents each, byaddressing the Ce nmis'sione'r of l 'aten'ts;

- WeshingtonQD.

